Her Father's Retribution
by kristen.barker.54
Summary: Namine is a young girl caught in the middle of strange happenings in her home. Her father, Vexen is in trouble, and she appears to be the only one who can save him. Of course, she has to get past a ton of corpses in order to save her only parent...May appear confusing at first, but don't worry! I know what I'm doing!
1. It Begins

Ten year old Namine walked down the hall leading to the basement where her father worked all the time, folding her hands in front of her as she walked. Her father was a scientist, and what he worked on, Namine didn't know. All she knew was...

She opened the door and walked inside, catching her father's attention. "Namine, it's way past your bed time," he said disapprovingly.

"I can't go to sleep. I keep thinking about mom," Namine said in her quiet voice. Her father's green eyes softened and he walked over to her, kneeling down to her short height and wrapping his hands around her small shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze.

"Yes, tomorrow is the anniversery," he said softly. "We'll go visit her grave together, and we'll tell her all about what's been happening, and you can make her a flower crown," Namine smiled at father, wrapping her arms around his neck and nuzzling her face into his chest. "Now, go back to bed, girl, and get some sleep. You'll be getting up early tomorrow."

"Okay, father," she replied, pulling back.

She shut the door tightly behind her, and as she walked away she heard a loud scream, stopping her in her tracks. Her blue eyes closed and she sucked in her pale lips, her little hands balling into fists. She had always heard animal and human screams alike coming from her father's lab, usually in the dead of night when the manor was extra quiet, and she pretended not to notice. She feined ignorance in order to avoid the truth. She was just a child, after all.

...

"Vexen, I don't think the mistress likes me," The doctor's assistant said as she brought him a tray of supplies.

"Why ever would you think that?" Vexen replied, glancing at her through his glasses.

"I can see it in her eyes," she sighed. This young woman's name was Fuu, and she was quiet, well-behaved young lady with short silver hair and dark eyes.

"She is about to turn eleven. Yes, it is quite a troublesome age...just be kind to her. Don't let any harm befall her,"

"Doctor..." Fuu looked over at Vexen as he went back to work.

"Namine is my most precious..."

...

"It's mignight," Namine whispered to herself as she lay in her bed. "The day mom went to Heaven," She looked at the picture of her mother that was sitting on the end table by her bed and picked it up. "Mom...what should I do? I love father, but she...Fuu...she scares me. Always looking at me with those eyes of hers...I hate her. But I know father likes her. If they get married, she'd be my new mom. I don't want a new mom. You're the only mom for me. You'll always be my mom." Namine's mother was beautiful, with blue green eyes, short blond hair with two destinctive strands that stuck up like antennaes. "Why did you have to leave?"

She gently set the picture of her mother down and wiped away the tears that fell from her eyes and got up, walking across the room to the old doll her father had given her when she was four. It seemed to stare right back at her, and she ran her fingers through its dull blond hair. It matched Namine's hair color, and it seemed so...real. She pulled her hand away from the doll.

_"Look, Namine! I brought you a present!" Namine turned to see her father walking in with a small bundle in his arms. He kneeled down to her and handed the bundle to her; oh!_

_"Yay!" Namine said with a smile. "It's a doll! Thank you, father!" She looked down away from her father's smile to the doll's little face and blinked._

_It's seems real...She thought. _

_"You like it?" Namine looked back at father and replied,_

_"Yes, I do! It's so pretty, it almost looks human." Her father patted her head as he stood._

_"I tried to make it look as real as possible. She can be your friend for a while."_

Namine turned the doll away from her, feeling a sudden cold chill. She began to feel kind of scared, and hurried back over to her warm bed, cuddling under the thick covers. She closed her eyes and slowly, descended into sleep.

...

_Namine sat on her father's lap, singing softly to herself and she tried to created a flower crown. Her little fingers weren't making it easy. "You sing very well, Namine," Father said happily._

_"Thank you, father," Namine replied. "I can't get this. I really want to have a flower crown!"_

_"Then here," Namine felt something soft rest on her head and she moved one of her hands to feel._

_"You made me a flower crown? Thank you!" Namine said, turning to smile at him. He returned her smile. "Does it look good on me?" she asked._

_"Yes, I think it suits you well...Namine, I'm sorry I can't play with you all the time," Namine turned back to her own flower crown._

_"It's okay. I know you have to work a lot." Her father stroked his fingers through her dull blond hair._

_"Still..."_

_ They both looked up when they heard the door to the kitchen close. "Hi, mom!" Namine called. Her mother smiled as she walked over to them._

_"Were you two playing?" she asked._

_"Yeah! Look, father made me a flower crown!" Mother sat down next to them and reached out to move a chunk of Namine's hair over her shoulder._

_"It looks wonderful on you, darling," she said with a smile. "Did you two play all day?"_

_"Yes! We should play again, father," He nodded._

_"We should. And you mother should join in as well," She nodded._

_"I look forward to it..."_

_ Suddenly she turned, erupting into a fit of coughing and wheezing. "Mom?" Namine gasped. Vexen reached for his wife and gently patted her back._

_"I'm okay," she said breathlessly. "It's just another fit," She coughed again, over and over, until she could barely breathe._

_"Don't push yourself, Larxene," Vexen said softly. "Why don't you go and get some medicine from Fuu?" Larxene shot a glare at Vexen and growled,_

_"I can get it myself. I don't need it from_

_her."_

_"Mom, are you okay?" Namine asked, gripping her mother's dress._

_ "Yes. I'm perfectly alright. Sorry to scare you, baby." She leaned down and kissed Namine's forehead. "Now, let's get back for dinner. I made your favorite."_

_"You made your three cheese lasagna with autumn salad? Yay! That's the best in the world, you know. Right, dad?" Vexen nodded._

_"Right. I don't know anyone who can make better lasagna than your mom."_

...

_We were so happy. Sure, there was Fuu, but still, the three of us were a happy family. But then mom passed away from illness, and we...well...The happiness just kind of disappeared._

...

"_AAAHHHH!_" Namine bolted up in her bed, looking around her dark room.

"Father?" she gasped. "Something must've happened..." She jumped out of her bed and put her slippers on, opening her bedroom door and going out into the hallway. She had a really bad feeling.

As she walked down the hall, something flew across her face and splattered on the wall...blood? She walked closer to the wall where the red liquid splattered and ran her index and middle fingers over it. "Blood," she whispered. "Why...?" A hand suddenly grabbed Namine's shoudler and she spun around to face two...corpses? She screamed and scrambled away, back the way she came.

"Hey..." She froze halfway back to her room to see a boy with messy blond hair.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" Namine asked.

"Come with me," the boy said. "I can help you. My name is Roxas," He walked up to the other end of the hall and turned back to look at Namine. "I said come with me." He turned his face completely to her and she screamed, scurrying back. Roxas' right eye was missing, part of his face badly burned and bleeding. Namine couldn't help but run away from him and back to her room; she tightly locked the door behind her.

When she turned she saw a man dressed all in black standing by the bookshelf by the window. "Who...?" she gasped. "Who's that?"

"You have many interesting books in here," the man said in a deep voice. He pulled a book from its place and opened it, thumbing through it.

"Who are you?" He glanced at Namine and she saw that he had ocean blue eyes.

"I am Marluxia," he replied as he shut the book. "Do you like books, my dear?" Namine didn't answer. "Don't be afraid. I'm merely a salesman."

"Salesman?" she repeated.

"Yes. I hope to get to know you, young lady."

He bowed to her, his odd dull pink hair moving with his motion. "But it's quite troublesome, to think that _corpses _loiter around your home," Namine blinked.

"Corpses? Those monsters back there? It's like they're from a scary story. Why would monsters like that...?"

"Well, it's a curse," Marluxia said as he put the book he got out back. Namine stared at him, her look telling him she didn't understand. "Those monsters you saw back there were your father's test subjects. They're so full of anger and hatred toward him that the curse brought them back to life...to seek revenge on your father, of course."

"What? No! My father is all I have left! I have to help him," Marluxia smiled.

"Why is that?" Namine spun to look at him. "To achieve his unrealistic goals, he killed so many people as part of his experiments. This is his retribution."

He walked over to Namine and his expression softened. "You must have realized by now...your father's true nature. Yet you still want to help him?" Namine was silent, turning her eyes away from Marluxia and turning to walk out of her room. He shook his head. "My, my, my. Maybe she's just too young yet, to understand our sorrow."

...

Namine peered around the corner to see the corpses that had been there earlier were gone. She had made up her mind. Father was always kind to her, and he was the only one she'd ever have. Marluxia didn't know him; he didn't know what he was talking about. Father would never hurt anyone! "And I promised mom, too." Namine murmured to no one.

...

_"The red-eyed stranger gave Jack the power to curse others. And Jack said, 'Thank you, red-eyed stranger. Now I can take my revenge.'."_

_"Hey, mom," Mom looked up from the book she was reading to Namine._

_"Yes?"_

_"What is father always up to in the basement?" Mom was quiet for a moment before replying,_

_"It's a hard job he has, Namine. You'll understand when you're a little older." Namine pouted, looking down at the sheets._

_"I wanna be older now..." she grumbled._

_"Namine, whatever happens, you shouldn't hate or judge your father, okay?" Mom said, cupping her daughter's cheek._

_ "Mom, I would never hate father. What's the matter?"_

_"I see..."_

_"Mom...do you not like father?"_

_"No, nothing like that, dear. I love your father very much," Namine sighed in relief. "Though, he can be a bit unpredictable. But let's support him no matter what he does, okay? Promise?" Namine nodded, smiling._

_"I promise, mom." Mom smiled._

_"Good. Now, back to the story..."_

...

Whatever happened, Namine would always love her father. She had to save him. She came to the stairs leading to the foyer and saw the two corpses that came at her earlier, wandering around, occasionally tripping over the rug and falling, occasionally bumping into the tables or couches. The door to father's lab was down in the foyer, so how could she get past the corpses? Taking a deep breath, she ran as fast as she could down the steps and rounded the corner to the door just as one of corpses lunged at her-it tripped and fell flat on its face as Namine ripped the door to the basement open and slammed it shut behind her.

She hurried down the hall leading to her father, but froze when she saw a barrier of corpses blocking her path. They appeared to be stuck together, tangled up in each other as they reached for her. "How do I...Oh!" She could...she could set them on fire, like the girl in one of the books she had in her room. She just needed a lighter...

Great. She had to go back the way she came.

...


	2. To The Lab

Namine somehow managed to get by the corpses and back upstairs. She knew there was a lighter somewhere up there...if she remembered correctly it was in the bathroom. As she walked down the hall she noticed one of the dolls from the doll room laying a few feet from her. Then it got up and began to walk away from her; she held back a scream and scrambled back, bumping into the couch behind her. The doll turned its face to her and then...it smiled. "Why is that doll moving?" Namine whispered to herself. The doll began walking away, and Namine waited awhile before going in the direction it went. It must've been part of the curse Marluxia mentioned, for the dolls to be walking around all on their own...right?

She peered around the corner, and with no sight of the doll, opened the bathroom door and walked in. She looked around the darkened room and walked over to the closet door, turning the knob. It wouldn't open. "Locked?" she groaned. "No..." _Splish. Splish, splash. _Namine froze, her eyes widening and the color draining from her face. The bath tub. Slowly, she turned to see the water in the tub gently swooshing and as she took a step closer she noticed that wasn't water. It was blood. She made a little noise and took another small step toward it.

Something jumped out of the tub at her, splattering some blood on her face and dress, and she screamed, falling back. Whatever it was face-planted on the tile floor, reaching out its hand. "Fuck..." It groaned. Swallowing, Namine inched over to it, reaching for the shiny object in the creature's hand; a key. Yanking away from the creature, she stood and hurriedly unlocked the closet door. The lighter! Thank God...She snatched it up and left the bathroom before the creature could get up-besides, it kept slipping and sliding on the floor.

"Empty," Namine whispered as she tried to get the flame to spark. "I need oil..." Oil. Where would oil be? "Um..." There could be some in the store house. That place was filled with extra things like soap and oil. Namine looked over the banister where the corpses were still wandering about, then sighed. She had to go to the cafeteria in order to get to the door to the store house, and the doors to the cafeteria were down in the foyer. She hurried down and slammed the door shut before the corpses could even notice her.

She walked toward the table that sat as soon as you entered the cafeteria and saw a white slip of paper sitting there; she picked it up. "Seven, eight, four, two?" Namine murmured. "What's this for? Well, might as well keep it," She folded it up and put it in the pocket her white nightgown had.

"_Grr..." _Her attention snapped to the kitchen, where a strange growling sound was coming from. Slowly, she walked into the kitchen to see a sickly looking, rabit dog scarffing down everything in the fridge.

"Oh...I should stay away," she murmured to herself. Carefully, she walked over to the rug at the corner of the room and pulled it off the trap door leading to the store house. She opened the trap door and gulped. It was way too dark to go down there without any kind of light with her.

She shut the door and sighed. What could she do now?

She ran back upstairs and slumped against the wall across from her father's room. "I need a lamp," she murmured to herself. "Would there be one in...?" She opened the door to her father's room and gently shut it behind her. Looking around, Namine didn't see any lamp she could use, but then she spotted a safe across from her father's bed. Could that be what the numbers were for? She walked over to the safe and typed in the code; the door swung open. "Oh. It smells like mom," Namine smiled. She reached in and pulled out a gas lamp. "Alright!" _Clang. _"Hm?"

A little glass bottle rolled out of the safe and under the bed. Namine swallowed, gathered up her courage and stuck her arm under the bed, her hand immediately closing around the little bottle. As she pulled it out she realized it was..."Mom's perfume," she whispered. She pulled the little cap off of it and took a deep breath. "That's why that safe smells like her," She smiled. "I'm just going to borrow this, okay, mom?" She straightened out and left her father's room.

"Hm? Snowball, how did you get out here?" Her little white rabbit, Snowball, stood in the hall, looking at her with his dark eyes. Namine kneeled down and Snowball walked over to her; she picked him up. "You love father too, right?" she asked him. "Come with me. I'll feel better if I wasn't alone."

...

_"Snowball! Snowball, where are you?" Namine looked around her back yard, tears forming in her eyes. "Snowball! Come on! Your leg is hurt, let me help you!"_

_"Namine," She turned to see her father coming outside with a bundle of white fur in his arms._

_"Snowball?" She ran up to him, and he handed the rabbit down to her. "Oh, I'm glad you're okay, Snowball," she murmured._

_"Namine, why don't you keep him in your room from now on? He made a complete mess of the kitchen," Namine nodded._

_"Yes, father. Oh...his leg..."_

_"I healed it for you, so you can have more time playing with him." Father smiled._

_"Oh, thank you, father." Namine held Snowball close to her, nuzzling her face into his soft fur._

...

So with Snowball walking close next to her, she went back to the cafeteria. Namine lit the lamp and descended down to the store house, only to find the door was locked. "No!" she cried. Groaning, she plopped down against the cold brick wall, Snowball crawling onto her lap. "What do we do now?" she asked him, knowing well he couldn't respond. He looked up at her, then scurried off. "Snowball!" He ran into a hole in the wall, and Namine stuck her arm in after him, feeling around. "Snowball,"

She pulled her hand away from the hole and pulled her knees to her chest. "I don't want to be alone," she whispered. _Ping. _She looked up to see a small vial rolling toward her, followed by Snowball, who escaped the hole just as a pale arm reached out for him. Namine screamed, scooping Snowball up and holding him close to her chest. "Snowball, what did you get?" Namine picked up the vial. Oh! "You got me oil? Thank you, Snowball!" She hugged him close then gently set him down and poured it into the lighter. "Come on. Let's get rid of those corpses."

Back in the basement, the corpses continued to reach out for Namine when they saw her. She tossed the gas lamp at the pile and it shattered, releasing gas all over the corpses, and as Namine lit the lighter, she murmured an apology. _Whoosh! _All the corpses began screaming, some crying out, "_It burns! Oh god, it hurts!" _and "_Help me! Help me, please!" _Namine closed her eyes and turned away from their helpless eyes and hands. When she looked back, they were gone.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

She walked past the former barrier and down the hall leading to the basement. Here she was...She took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Fuu?" She murmured. A young lady lay on the floor, unmoving. Upon closer inspection, Namine realized that it was Fuu. "Fuu!" She ran over to her and shook her, noticing a huge gash in Fuu's arm. She opened her dark eyes and made a noise.

"Mistress?"

"You're hurt,"

"I'll...be fine. But you need to leave. It's very dangerous for you here,"

"But what about father? I heard him scream from my room," Fuu's eyes suddenly brightened and she gasped,

"The doctor! I have to help him..." She tried to stand, but then collasped.

"You're too hurt to go after him," Namine said softly. "Fuu, where is father?"

"He's...further in...but you can't...you can't...go...his wife..."

"His wife? Mom? What would mom...?"

Fuu went limp, and Namine's heart skipped a beat. "Fuu? Fuu?" She put her hand on her chest and sighed in relief; still breathing.

"It seems she's fainted," Namine quickly stood and spun around to see Marluxia, sitting on one of the wooden tables.

"Marluxia..."

"As far as your father is concerned, it seems he's in there," Marluxia pointed to the door across the room from him. "I would assume he's going to the underground maze,"

"Underground maze?" Namine repeated before shaking her head. "What did Fuu see, Marluxia? Mom passed away. There's no way she could've seen her, unless...the curse..." Marluxia smiled.

"You'll only find out if you keep pressing on, won't you?"

He jumped off the table and walked over to the door, looking back at Namine before walking in and closing the door behind him. "Don't walk away from me," Namine growled, then went into the room herself.

At a quick glance, Namine didn't see Marluxia...but... "Father!" she cried. Her father lay on the ground all the way across the room from her, barely conscious.

"Na...mine," he said in a weak voice. Namine ran over to him, but was suddenly thrown back. With a small cry she landed hard on her bum, rubbing the small of her back and looking up.

"Mom?"

There her mother floated, blue, a gaping hole in her chest, right where her heart should be. "Mom, is that you?" Namine stood and took a step toward them, but suddenly, her mother grabbed her father and disappeared with him. "Wait!" she cried. "Don't go! Mom! Father..."

"Haven't you noticed?" Namine turned. Marluxia was looking into one of the six oversized test tubes that held dead bodies in them. "This tragedy was brought on by that woman's curse. The malice for your father..." He looked over at Namine and smiled. "That malice made the curse real, seeking out his death."

"But...that woman was..."

"Do you understand? She was your mother,"

"You're lying!" Marluxia raised his eyebrows.

"Am I? Why do you think that?"

"Because mom loved father! Out of everyone, mom understood father's work...and he loved her back. Wasn't she happy? There's no way I can believe that she held a grudge toward father. But, she probably didn't like father and Fuu..."

"Really?" Namine's eyes narrowed at Marluxia's tone of voice.

"Leave me alone. I don't want to believe it..." Without another word, Namine turned.

"So are you going to find the truth?" Marluxia asked her. She looked back at him for a moment, then left. Marluxia laughed softly. "I don't know..."

...


	3. Further Into the Maze

"What is this room?" Namine murmured as she looked around the large dark room. It had a bunch of wooden tables in it, with...corpses on them. Clenching her jaw, she walked toward the doorway leading out of the strange room.

"_Where is...body..." _Squeaking, Namine looked to her left to see a severed head, staring at her with dull blue eyes, some of his slate hair covering his left eye.

"You want...your body?" she asked softly.

"_I need...where is my body?"_ The head said in a gravelly voice. Swallowing, Namine looked around. Could the body maybe be under one of the stained blankets?

Gathering her courage, she checked under each blanket, eventually coming to a headless body. She squealed when it sat up on its own and stand. "Okay..." she whispered. "Okay, body, um...follow me," Slowly, making sure it didn't fall over any of the tables, and it made it back to its head.

"_My body!" _The head cried. Gently, Namine picked the head up and put it on the body's shoulder. Surprisingly, the head stayed on. The young man looked down at Namine and smiled. "Thank you, miss." He said before slowly disappearing.

"Did I just help a ghost?" Namine murmured.

Shaking her head, she walked into the next room, coming to a near dead end, besides a lone door next to the one she came from. Shaking the door, she realized it was locked. She frowned. "Okay," she murmured.

"Miss," she turned to see the ghost she helped. He held out his hand, revealing a key to her.

"Thank you very much." Namine said with a smile. He smiled.

"It's the least I could do." He waved as he faded once more, and Namine unlocked the door, stepping into the small room.

"Hm?" She picked up boards to what looked like a latter and remembered that a while ago, her father had taken apart the latter leading to the attic. "These could be useful."

Glancing to her right, Namine saw an old bag by the old and broken bookshelf. She forced the boards into it and slung it over her shoulder. "Maybe there's something I could use in the attic?" she said to herself. Now, the door to the attic was past her bedroom, meaning she'd have to back track all the way back to the main house. This was such a time waster...but if there was something that could help her in the attic, she'd risk it.

...

After the strangely quiet walk all the way back to the main house, Namine made it to the attic door. This was where that boy Roxas went...would he be in there? Who was he, anyway? Taking a breath, she opened the door to see a darkened room, and, squinting, she was able to see where the latter was, and where the boards were missing. She slid the missing boards back into place and climbed up to the attic, looking around the dusty room. She'd better be careful, or else her asthma could act up..."Hm?" She saw something gleam in the dull moonlight and walked closer to it. It shined. It was the blade of a chainsaw. "Oh, I remember this," she murmured as she picked it up. Yes, her father scolded her for playing with it once.

...

_Vroom, vroom, vroooom! "Namine!" She quickly dropped the still humming chainsaw as her father rushed outside. His eyes widened when he saw what she was playing with. "No, Namine Marie. This is _not _a toy, do you understand me? This is a dangerous tool!" Namine looked down._

_"I'm sorry, father. It just looked so fun..."_

_"This could kill you if you use it wrong!"_

_"I'm really sorry..." Father sighed and turned the chainsaw off, then pulled her into a hug._

_"I'm just glad you're not hurt, Namine. I thought that thing would be in a place out of your reach...Where did you find this?" Namine didn't look at him. "You went and got this from my lab, didn't you?" She didn't answer, and he sighed. "Alright, then..."_

...

That was why father took the steps off the latter. He put the chainsaw in the attic so Namine couldn't reach it. "This could come in handy, though, especially against those things," she murmured. She picked it up and left the attic with it. As she examined it as she walked, a moan caught her attention, and, looking up, she saw a corpse coming right at her. Instinctively, she pulled the cord of the chainsaw, turning it on, and swiping it down on the corpse; blood splattered everywhere, even getting on her nice nightgown. Struggling to catch her breath, she turned it off and went back to the corpse room.

"Okay," she moved the barrels blocking her way to the next room in the maze and walked up the stairs into a whole new room. How odd...As she rounded the corner she saw double doors leading somewhere else, and as she tried to pull on them, she realized they were locked. "Darn it," she growled. "Hm?" A soft sobbing sound caught Namine's attention and she wandered around until she found a metal door. It sounded like the sobbing was coming from behind it.

"_My eyes!" _the girl cried. "_I can't see anything! That man took my eyes!" _Namine swallowed tightly. That girl's eyes were gone? So now she had to find the girl's eyes?

"Okay."

She walked down the hall away from the metal door and come to a room with a bunch of spilled wine bottles; the scent of alcohol was overwhelming; she coughed. "Ick," she grumbled. "Am I in the store house?" She walked over to the door across from her and unlocked it, peering out into the hall. Yep. This was the store house. _Thump. _Namine looked to her right to see yet another wood door, and she slowly opened it, peering inside.

"What is this place?" she murmured as she walked further in. A sign caught her attention. "Taxidermy Room?" she said. "What does taxidermy mean?" Strange things sat soaking in jars of weird liquid on the many shelves in the room, and as Namine came to the last set of shelves she gasped. Two headed babies? A whole row of...rabbits? "Snowball?" she whispered. She backed away from the shelves and something fell from them; she picked it up. It was a jar of a pair of eyeballs. She could give these to the girl...

Namine knocked on the metal door. "Um...I have some eyes here..." she called. Slowly, the door opened and a girl with red hair peered out.

"You have my eyes?"

"Um...I think," She handed the jar to the girl, who took it and unscrewed the lid. Namine turned away as the girl put the eyeballs back in her head.

"I can see!" The girl cried. Namine looked at her; she had beautiful blue eyes. "Thank you." The girl faded, and Namine peered into the room she had been in, noticing a lever on the wall. As she walked over to it, she noticed a name written on the wall next to it; _Kairi. _

"Was that her name?" Namine murmured to herself. Shaking her head, she pulled the lever, and something made a noise.

The doors had opened!

Namine went through them into the next room, down a set of stairs, into another room, down a set of stairs, into another room, down a set of..."Um," she murmured. "It's the same as the last room," She turned to see a girl around her age with short black hair standing beside some barrels. That girl looked a lot like her..."Are you keeping me from continuing on?" she asked the girl. She nodded. "Why?" The girl didn't answer. "Well, what would it take to get you to let me through?" She still didn't answer. Sighing, Namine walked out of the room. "What...are you following me?" She saw the girl had follwed her, and she nodded. "Okay...um, do you want to go home? How about out?" The girl nodded. "Okay, then follow me."

Namine led the girl outside and then...

...

_What? These are...the girl clothes? Why am I in them? Namine looked around to find she was in the corpse room again, but...she didn't remember walking down them. "Well," she looked over toward the door to see father. She opened the girl's mouth to speak, but no sound would come out. No...no, father, it's me... "Stay still, won't you?" Father? He pulled a chainsaw out from behind his back and under his mask she could see him smile. Father, no! Why can't I speak! It's me! Your daughter! Father! "Now, shall we begin?" He turned on the chainsaw and Namine scrambled back, falling down to her bum. "Let me have those beautiful hands." Then, he brought the chainsaw down on her._

...

"_No!" _Namine bolted up, screaming. Shaking, she looked around, noticing she was outside again, back in her old body. "Father...why did you...?" Shaking her head, she stood and walked back to the room where she kept getting turned around, seeing that girl, only...dead. And her hands were missing. Swallowing, Namine noticed something shiny in the the girl's blood. A key. Namine picked it up and cleaned it off on her dress, noticing a door at the end of the stairs. She unlocked it and went inside. "A...jail?"

The room was full of cells, and as Namine walked down the long hall of cells, someone slammed against the door. Giving a short cry, Namine looked over to the man. He had long, tangled silver hair and sad gold brown eyes. "You want let out?" Namine asked. He nodded, the silver hair moving against his tan skin. "I'll find the key for you." She promised. She looked around and saw that there was a huge hole in the cell next to the prisoner's. Slowly, she stepped through the hole and into a garden maze. "What...?" She never knew this place existed.

She walked further in and jumped back when she saw something. _Is that a doll? _She thought. It was walking around, as if patrolling, and it had a butcher knife. When it turned its back, she ran out around it, somehow managing to not catch its attention. She managed to run around every single doll without it noticing and came to the jail cell across from the man that was trapped. "I'm going to let you out," Namine said, grabbing the jail key on the table by the stone wall. Putting it in her small pocket she walked up to the large drum blocking the cell door and knocked it over, spilling its contents all over the dirty floor. Namine opened the cell door and walked over to the cell keeping the man trapped, putting the key in and turning it.

She stepped away as the door swung open and the man stepped out, smiling at her. "Thank you." He said in a very deep voice. "Take this." He handed her a bouquet of pink flowers and she gave him a look as he slowly vanished.

"Hm. What do I need these for?" She put it in her bag and walked out of the jail, into a...chapel, of sorts.

As she walked up the aisle, a voice said, "If you go this way, it may take a long time for you to come back," She turned to face Marluxia, who was sitting in one of the pews reading the Bible. "Are you still going?" He didn't look at her as he spoke, but the hints of a smile played at his lips. Namine narrowed her eyes at him.

"You know the answer to that." And she turned and walked away, through the door next to the alter. Marluxia looked up, his smile widening.

Namine came to a dining room she hadn't been in before and looked around. She walked to the small kitchen, where a whole ham was sitting, and she cocked her head. "Well someone has been here. The fire's still on." She turned it off, then continued down the hall. As she walked, she was suddenly grabbed, slowly crushing her throat in an iron grip. _Oh, god, I can't breathe! _Namine thought frantically as she struggled, feriously kicking her legs and clawing at the hands wrapped around her delicate neck. She stared up at the assailant, at his cold blue eyes, and for some reason, she noticed his ears were pierced. She gave a small screech, and then, the man just threw her against the wall. As her vision slowly faded, she saw a boy with blond hair fighting against the man.

...

_Father..._

Namine slowly came back into consciousness and looked up to see Roxas, the right side of his face bandaged. "You're alright," he said softly.

"Roxas..." she croaked in a dry voice.

"Don't worry. I'm an ally, and I'm here to help you," She cocked her head. "Sorry I scared you earlier. My appearance must've surprised you." Namine was silent for a moment before she said,

"That wound on your face...is it from father?" Roxas' smile was soft.

"Don't worry about that. It's in the past now,"

"Everyone has it out for father. Why don't you? Don't you hate him?"

Roxas kneeled down to Namine and sighed. "Because of our hatred toward your father, we can't be saved. Once you break the curse, it's our time. But I've come to save you. Let's get away from here together," He took her hand and pulled her to her feet, pulling her toward the exit. She pulled on her arm.

"No, I can't...I have to save father!" She began to walk away, and Roxas yelled,

"Don't go!" She turned back to him. "Some of those corpses have it in for you as well! If they see you, they'll take away your life." Namine closed her eyes.

"That's a risk I have to take, Roxas. I have to help father!" He walked up to her and grabbed her wrist.

"Give up on your father." He said in a flat voice.

"No!" Namine whipped her hand away. "I _have to save father!_"

"Please, Namine, listen to me! She asked me to do this... she asked..." Suddenly there was a wet _slick _sound, and Roxas' eyes went wide; he fell, going motionless, a knife sticking out of his side.

"Roxas!" Namine screamed.

"Mistress," She turned to see Fuu walking up to them, the sleeve of her right arm covered in blood.

"Fuu?"

"Are you alright, mistress? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Tearing up, Namine whispered,

"No,"

"Why will you not leave? I thought I told you it is no longer safe here,"

"Father..."

"You leave him to me. It's my duty to save the doctor, not yours, and you have my word that I will bring him back safe. So that being said, mistress, please go somewhere safe."

With that, she turned to leave, but Namine grabbed her wrist. "Fuu, please. Let me go with you!" Gently, but firmly, Fuu pulled her wrist from Namine's grasp.

"No. If anything happened to you, it would crush the doctor. And what lies ahead, well..." Namine fell silent. "I know it must be hard, mistress, but I need to go ahead alone. You will not do as you please here." A loud moan vibrated the room, and Fuu chuckled. "It seems she's waiting to meet me. I will settle this, mistress. Stay. Here." She said these last words firmly, and then left.

Namine stood there for a bit, then looked back at Roxas, kneeling down to him. "I'm sorry, Roxas," she whispered.

"I'll make sure to get out safely. Like mom wanted, right?" Gently, she pulled the knife from Roxas' side and slipped it into her bag. "And I _will _do as I please, Fuu. You are _not _my mother."

...


	4. The Diary

Namine came back to the dining room her family never used and this time, there was a very skinny young man sitting at the table, holding his stomach and rocking back and forth. "So...hungry..." he moaned. "Axel is hungry..."

"Oh," Namine cocked her head, then remembered there was a ham in the kitchen.

She cut off a piece of ham and cooked it, then brought it out to the young man named Axel. He looked at her, and she cocked her head at the strange tattoos of arrows under his green eyes. "You would feed me?" he asked.

"Sure. You seem real hungry. Go ahead, eat," she said with a smile. Axel returned her smile and began eating, scarffing down the fried ham.

"This is really good...it tastes just like what mom used to make..." He mumbled through mouthfuls of food. Namine smiled. He inhaled the rest of the food then turned and looked at her.

"Well, this isn't to mom's standards, but it was pretty good. I haven't had a bite to eat since I was locked up in here," Namine frowned.

"I saw Fuu bringing food down to the basement every day. You didn't get any of that?" Axel shook his head, his spiky red hair moving with his motions.

"There was food brought down here, sure, but I never got any. I was always overlooked." He looked down at the table and sighed. "I was always unwanted, after mom died. Useless and just pissing people off, so I was abadoned, left behind." Namine looked down.

"Oh..."

"Here, take this. It's not much, but it'll probably help you out somewhere, right?" Axel handed her a napkin, and she took it, thanking him. "No, thank you. I can leave now." Then Axel faded, saluting her. Sighing, Namine walked back through the kitchen to the door at the end of the hall.

As she shut the door, a hand grabbed it and kept it open. She looked up to see Marluxia looking down at her. "The passage was a little cluttered, so I cleaned it up a bit for you." He gently pried the door from Namine's hands and left, closing the door behind him.

"You...cleaned it?" she murmured. She walked up the hall and came to two doors, and after a moment of debating, decided that she'd go in the room to the left.

Inside, there was a headless mannequin, then two others standing across from each other. As she walked farther in, she saw a painting of a woman on the small wall behind the headless mannequin. She walked around the small wall and saw a suit of armor holding a sword, and a pot holding a bouquet of pink flowers. Then there was a door that Namine went through.

She jumped and squeaked when she saw Marluxia. "I thought you went back..."

"I do appear in the randomest places," he replied with a smile. "So, did you solve the puzzle to open these doors?" He nodded toward the double doors with a huge pad lock on them.

"There's a puzzle?" Marluxia nodded.

"Right."

"And you're not going to help me?" He shook his head.

"Nope. I'm not allowed to help you. But I will tell you something; you'll need that mannequin in the other room." He pointed to a mannequin that looked exactly the same as the mannequin in the other room. Only this one had a head.

"Okay..."

As he watched, Namine pushed the mannequin to the other door and inside. She moved it all the way down to the same position the other mannequin was in the other room. "Do I have to make this room match the other?" Namine murmured to herself.

"You got it," Marluxia said from the doorway.

"Oh...so I need...to..." She ripped the head off the mannequin and tossed it to Marluxia, who gave her a look. "Do what you want with it," she said with a shrug as she adjusted the painting to match the one in the other room. When she wasn't looking, he made it burn in his hands. Namine remembered that the suit of armor Marluxia was standing by was all the way against the wall in the other room, and she pushed it into place. But it was missing something. "Oh!" She went and got the sword from the mannequin she knocked the head off of and put it with the suit of armor, then, the last thing...she took the bouquet the man in the cells had given her and put them in the empty vase by the door.

"What do you know," Marluxia said. "You did it."

Then he turned and walked away, disappearing before Namine could go after him. But she noticed the doors to the next room were open, and she walked inside. "What is this?" The room was small, and everything inside it was black and white, and the people inside were frozen. In her way was a podium with a book on it. "Is this a diary?" Namine murmured as she walked up to it.

_January 10,_

_I was born. I slept cuddled next to my mother._

The podium slid away, allowing Namine to walk into the room. There was a woman sleeping in a bed, and a baby, all the way across the room from her. "Well, it said it slept cuddled next to its mother..." Namine picked the child up and lay him next to the woman, and the podium slid out of the way of the door to the next room.

_April 4,_

_I killed an animal for fun. Then I got addicted. There's always dead cats and birds in my room, and mother gets mad when she finds them. Whenever mother is out, I hide the corpses in the dresser._

The podium slid out of her way again and she walked into the room, where a woman stood frozen, a disapproving look on her face, and a boy stood by his bed, covered in blood. "Okay..." Namine picked up the dead bird and cat and hid them in the dresser, then pushed the woman out of the room, and the podium slid out of the way of the next door.

_December 12,_

_Mother found out that I was killing animals and scolded me._

_Shut up._

_I took a kitchen knife and stabbed her, and she fell over, all red. It didn't suit such a pretty face. So I wiped mother's face. Her dead face was so pretty._

Namine sucked in her lips and looked ahead at the room. A dead woman lay on the floor, all covered in blood, and Namine pulled the napkin out of her bag, kneeling down and hesitantly wiping the blood off her face. She looked over to the boy when she was done and noticed he didn't have a knife. So she took the knife from the kitchen counter and put it in his hand. The next room became available, and Namine slowly walked into it.

_ June 25,_

_I killed mother. I was scared, so I ran away, far, far away. All the way to the ocean. I wanted to forget everything, but I couldn't forget mother's dead face._

_I killed another._

_I eventually got addicted to seeing dead faces._

Namine slowly walked around the frozen woods, looking down at the two dead bodies, one slumped against a tree, the other with his throat slit so badly he was almost decapitated. And there a young man stood, holding a pick axe and looking down at the young girl he was about to kill with a smile on his face. She had such a terrified look on her face. And Namine knew she had to...She started her chainsaw and, squinting her eyes shut, she swiped it across the girl, cutting her head clean off. She really hoped this was last room.

"Oh, thank god," Namine sighed when she came to the next room to see it was normal enough. Taking a deep breath, she walked down the stairs to the floor below and fell to her knees. "I can't...move..." It was like paralysis had taken her over, and her vision blurred; she fell to the floor, unconscious.

"You've pushed yourself to your limit, girl," Marluxia said softly as he walked down the steps. "Maybe you should rest." He picked Namine up and left with her.

...


	5. To the Incinerator

_Four year old Namine ran around outside, playing. Her mother sat in the grass, making a flower crown. She looked at Namine and said, "Come here, dear," Namine ran up to her and jumped in her arms, nuzzling her face into mom's chest. _

_"You're warm, mom," Namine said as her mom stroked her hands down her hair._

_"Close your eyes, Namine," she said, pulling Namine back._

_"Um, okay," Namine closed her eyes, and mom kissed her forehead. "May you always be smiled upon."_

_"Mom?"_

_"I gave you a good luck charm," Mom said with a smile._

_"A what charm?"_

_"I charmed you so you'll always, always be happy from now on."_

_"Wow..." Namine cuddled into mom's chest again. "I love you, mom."_

_"I love you too, Namine."_

...

_Mom, you smell nice..._

Namine opened her eyes to see a blond boy standing beside her. He laughed. Namine shrank back, and then she realized, "_You _smell like mom! Why do you smell like her?" The boy pulled a little bottle out of his pocket and sniffed it. "Hey! That's mom's!" Namine jumped for it, but the boy slid gracefully back from her, laughing again. Then he turned and ran away. "Hey!" Namine ran after him to hear the door next to the room she was in close, and she also heard the lock twist. She banged on the door. "Give that back! It's my mom's! Hey!" The boy laughed from behind the door.

Growling Namine slammed her fist into the door. She needed the key to that door. Sighing, she looked around and began walking down a dark hallway. "Ow!" She cried when she felt something bite her. "A mouse...?" Suddenly they were all swarming around her, and she ran down the hallway, trying to get to the end. When she stepped on something that clearly wasn't a mouse she hurriedly picked it up, making sure she didn't stop moving. The key! Why was it just laying down here? She didn't care, she just ran back into the light, the mice letting up on her. She looked at her ankle where the mouse had bit her; it was bleeding. Well, she didn't have time to worry about a little wound like this; she unlocked the door and walked in to see the boy trying to coax a mouse over to him.

"Come on, don't be afraid," Still, the mouse scurried away and the boy sighed. "It doesn't seem to like this scent. No animals do..." Namine rushed at him, slapping him across his face and pushing him against the wall.

"Give. That. Back!" She screamed. The boy blinked his blue eyes then said,

"I don't have it anymore,"

"What? Where did you put it?" The boy laughed.

"I dunno. Look around." He pushed Namine off of him and walked out of the room. She had never been so mad...

She rummaged around the room, moving things, pushing things, and then she noticed a large crack in the wall behind the old bookshelf and she pushed it away, knocking it over in the process. Cocking her head, she walked into the secret passage and noticed something shiny at the end of the small hall. "Mom's perfume!" She ran over to pick it up, and as she held it to her heart something jumped at her. She cried out as the corpse grabbed her ankle, and she kicked it, running out of the passage. It only followed her, crawling towards her way too fast for it to be human, and she ran out into the hallway and slammed the door shut; it ran right into it. She caught her breath and looked back down the hall with all the mice. Well, if the animals didn't like this perfume... "Just a little, okay, mom?" Namine doused herself in perfume and tucked the bottle away in her bag.

The mice ran away from her as she walked down the hallway, and when she walked down the steps leading to a lighter room, one of the statues spit blood at her. "Ew!" She squeaked, swatting at her nightgown. That thing was so ruined...Sighing she continued on, walking into a room with a bunch of doors. The guest rooms? As she walked around the corner she heard something thud and froze, then the door at the end of the hall slammed open and white, clearly decaying corpse came rushing at her; she turned and ran into one of the rooms, slamming the door behind her. The corpse slammed into the door, moaning in anger.

"What do I do? I'm trapped," Namine looked around, looked for any sign that there was a way out of this room other than that door, and couldn't find any. Sighing, she sat on the plain bed. After a few moments, the bed slid across the room, pulling a startled scream out of her. She jumped off the bed and noticed a hole in the wall where the heardboard of the bed was. It looked like she could fit through it! She ducked into it, coughing a bit when the dust entered her lungs, and walked to the end of the small, claustrophobic hall, into the room next to the one she was just in. When she peered out the door, however, the corpse noticed her and ran at her. Screaming, she ran back into the tunnel and pulled a pot to block the way of the corpse, who didn't know how to move it.

Sighing, Namine walked back into the hall, where the corpse suddenly shot out of the tunnel; Namine slammed the door shut and the corpse slammed into it. "So ha, asshole!" Namine laughed. She turned, flipped her hair, and continued on, down the hall the corpse had come from.

She came to a room where a doll that looked just like her sat, right smack in the middle of the room. Sucking in her lips, she walked around it and toward the door, but when she touched it, it singed her fingers, and she cried out in pain. "_You will not pass." _The doll said in a creepy voice. Eyes widening, Namine turned and walked back to it.

"You're keeping me from going on?"

"_You will not pass." _The doll repeated.

"Let me go," Namine insisted. The doll moved its head to look at her and screamed,

"_YOUWILLNOTPASS YOUWILLNOTPASS YOUWILLNOTPASS YOUWILLNOTPASS!" _Namine flinched at the screech of the doll's voice and took a step back.

"You have to destroy it," a boy's voice said. Namine looked over to see the boy that stole her mother's perfume sitting against the wall.

"What?"

The boy stood and walked over to her. "You need to destroy it," he repeated. "Burn it up real good, and the spirit inside with burn up real good too. Then _bam!" _Namine jumped when the boy got in her face. "The invinsible barrier around the door is gone!"

"_Shut up!" _The doll screamed. The boy laughed and ran away. Namine looked back at the doll, then picked it up, putting it in her bag.

"Burn it up, huh? Well, I'm sure there's an incinerator here somewhere..."

...


	6. To the Other World

Namine left the room with all the guest rooms and went down the hall, coming to a door leading outside. As she walked in the silent night, she noticed a dead cat laying by the small pond, its guts spilled out all around it. She closed her eyes and kept on. She came to a small door made of ivy and walked through it, nearly falling off the small cliff as soon as she got out there. Her heart pounding, she carefully slid along the length of the thin path, trying to not to look at the ocean down below.

She came to another garden maze like the one before, and like before, there were dolls patrolling the area. And one spotted her. Just as it came at her with a knife, someone jumped down and smashed its head with his boot. "Marluxia..."

"It wouldn't be very interesting if I just let you die, now would it?" He said with a smile. "Go on. Don't worry about the dolls. If they go after you, I'll crush them." Namine nodded.

"Thank you."

"Oh, don't thank me just yet." Marluxia said with a strange twinkle in his eyes. "Go on."

Taking a breath, she walked around in the maze, occasionally hearing Marluxia smashing a doll, and she shivered. To think they had such malicious intent toward her...What were Marluxia's intentions, anyway? Was he a friend or an enemy? He told her not to thank him just yet...

She came to another part of the garden maze, only this time, there were no patrolling dolls. "Thank god..." Namine sighed. As she walked down the little corridor made of leaves she heard something coming from the room across from her.

"What are you doing?" a boy's voice cried.

"Why do you wanna save her so bad, Demyx?" a stranger's voice retorted sharply. "Save her, and we won't be able to go back to normal!"

"Why not drag everybody here? That's way more fun!"

"You fucking _idiot." _

"Stop!"

There was a crashing sound, and then a soft plop. Namine jumped. That boy...Demyx? She hurried into the room to see him laying on the cold ground, all cut up and bleeding, a scalpel sticking out from his chest. "Demyx!" Namine cried. He looked at her with his fading blue eyes.

"I just...wanted to be...a part of your family..." He said. And then, he was gone. Namine shook her head fiercely.

"That's not fair," she whispered. "It's not fair! Demyx..." She sat there for a moment, shedding a few tears, and then she stood. She had to continue on. Her father was still alive, and she could still save him. She would always keep Demyx in her heart. Demyx, and Roxas and Axel. They would remain alive within her. Nodding, she stood and continued on.

She walked into a room that that rabid dog from earlier was in. It seemed to not notice her...and there was something in a pile of dead birds that shined...a key! Namine hurried quietly over to it, and just as she was about to reach for it, the dog ran at her, forcing her to scramble back as far as she could. It growled at her for a moment, then ate a bird, along with the key. "Oh, no!" Namine cried. Now what? She had to get that key from that dumb dog...and...she did have a knife... "I can't go up against a rabid dog," she grumbled. She had to find something to knock it out with first. But what?

"There's a room you missed," Namine turned and looked behind her. Marluxia opened the door. "I think you'll find what you need in here." He said before turning and walking away. Taking a breath, Namine stood up, dusted herself off, and walked to the room that Marluxia pointed out to her. It had a bunch of weird plants in it...She walked further in and found that one of the plants had broken out of its cell, only to be buried in a pot of dirt. She gripped its leaves and began to pull, but Marluxia grabbed her hand.

"Why not?" Namine groaned.

"Unless you have earplugs on you, I would strongly advise against pulling that plant out of its place,"

"Why?"

"Because, darling. These plants are mandrake roots. Do you know what happens when you pull them out of their nice warm dirt? They'll scream so loud and for so long that you'll pass out. You can't afford to do that _again, _can you?" Namine glared up at him and whipped her hand away. "Find some earplugs or something first. Then, take the pot out to where that dog is, and pull the mandrake root out. Then you can get the key from its belly." Namine looked up at him.

"But I thought it'll only pass out,"

"It will only pass out," Marluxia said. "I didn't say you didn't have to kill the dog. But don't worry. Passed out, it won't feel a thing. Besides, doesn't your father mean more to you than a rabid dog who would kill you if you dare got too close?" She swallowed. He had a point...but Namine didn't want to kill anything. "It's your choice," Marluxia said, standing up. "Your father, or a worthless dog." And then he left again.

...

Namine had looked around that room for a long time for earplugs or anything that would suffice. But so far, nothing. Irritated, she threw a hammer that was resting on a table at a pot, shattering it. "Hm?" She walked over to it, and rummaged around in the junk. Aha! Earplugs! "And who says temper tantrums never solve anything?" Putting them in her ears, Namine went over to the pot with the mandrake root and carried it back to where the rabid dog was and set it down. Taking a breath, she pulled the mandrake root from its place in the warm dirt and it did scream, except she didn't hear it. When it stopped screaming she set it back into the pot and walked over to the dog, who was passed out. "I'm really, really sorry."

And she cut into the dog's stomach, fishing out the key. How she didn't throw up was a mystery to her.

She removed the earplugs and put them in her bag, just in case she needed them again and went back to the room Demyx faded in and unlocked the double doors to find they leaded to the incinerator. Namine turned some knobs, not sure which was which, until the flames shot up from down below, and then she took the creepy doll out from her bag. "_You want to destroy me?" _It asked her.

"It's the only way to get to father, so, yes." Namine replied.

"_If you do this, I won't open the doors."_

"We'll have to see about that,"

"_Don't! Namine!" _She froze in throwing the doll.

"You...know my name?"

"Of course I know your name...my daughter,"

"Mom...?"

"I want to see you again, my sweet daughter..."

"No...no, you're not my mom. Mom is _dead!_"

Namine threw the doll to the ground and smashed its head in with her foot before kicking it down into the fire. "Mom is dead, but the curse brought her back," she whispered. "In any case, you weren't her. She has father, and Fuu too."

...

Namine made her way back to the room that the doll had been in and slowly reached for the doors. They didn't hurt her this time, and she pushed them open. She came to a room with a strange portal in it, and cocked her head. "This is..."

"That will take you to the other world," Marluxia's voice said. Namine didn't turn to look at him.

"He's up ahead, then? Father..."

"Are you really going? You're still very young, and a reality too harsh is waiting for you. Will you still go?" Namine looked at him.

"I have to. I have to save father." Marluxia smiled softly.

"You're very adamant about this, I see. Fine. Then at least take this,"

He walked up to her and kneeled down to her short height, taking her hand and putting a small bottle in it. "What is this?" Namine asked.

"Magic Water, a product from my company." Namine smiled.

"Magic Water? Sounds made up." Marluxia chuckled.

"Just please take it with you. It's properties will no doubt be of help to you."

"Can I save father with this, too?"

"Of course. The water has the power to seal the curse,"

"So, I can stop it...Mom...she must be in pain. Will she be able to rest once the curse is gone?" Marluxia nodded.

"I'm sure as long as your love reaches her, she can be saved." Namine was quiet for a moment before saying,

"Okay. Thank you, Marluxia." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, making him cock his head in confusion.

Smiling, Namine pocketed the water and stepped into the portal. Marluxia watched after her for a while before chuckling darkly. "Which will she choose, I wonder. I think I'd like to see this through to the end..."

...


	7. The End of Daze

"Mm..." Namine pulled herself to her feet and looked around. "This is...like a storybook world," she murmured. She took a couple steps and a bridge formed for her, leading her right to her mom and father, and Fuu too. "Mom..." she whispered.

"So you've come, Namine," Mom said in an ominous voice.

"It's really you, mom. Mom!" Namine ran toward her, but she slapped her away, throwing her to the ground a few feet from her. "Mom, why would you...?"

"You shouldn't have come," she growled.

"Why would you do this?"

"You've seen it on your way here, haven't you, Namine? The terrible things this man is doing? I don't want any more victims of his!"

"You're lying!" Namine cried. Her mom looked at her. "If anyone understood father's work, it was you, mom! It's Fuu you don't like, right? She loved father, so you didn't like them getting along...mom, I know how you feel! I love father too, so I feel like Fuu was taking him away! I was so scared that I'd be left behind..." Her mom laughed solemnly.

"I know that. You're right, Namine. I couldn't stand to see your father and Fuu together."

"You still love father, don't you? So then why are you making him suffer?" Her mom fell silent for a moment.

"I don't want to make him suffer...I don't want to give him to anyone," She fell to her knees beside his barely conscious body.

"So I'm taking him with me."

Namine's eyes widened. "No, you can't! If you do that, I'll be all alone! I don't want to be alone! If you really must take him, then please, mom, take me too!" Mom looked at her.

"I can't possibly do that. I want you to live and be happy..." Namine shook her head fiercely.

"I can't! I'm happy when I'm with mom and father! So don't leave me alone, please!" She ran towards her mom, who again shoved her back, rising to float above her.

"_No one shall interfere!" _She screamed before picking up father. "Now honey, let us go..."

"Father! Father!" Namine screamed. He looked up.

"Namine...Namine!"

"Father...!" She ran to them, pulling them apart and falling to the ground with her father.

"Namine...why won't you listen to your mother?" Mom asked.

"You can't take father away!" She cried.

"_OUT OF MY WAY!" _Namine flinched.

"Mom..."

"_No one will have him,"_

"Mom, stop,"

"_He is mine and mine alone."_

"Mom, please!"

...

_"What is this?"_

_"Magic Water, a product of my company...the water has the power to seal the curse."_

_"Will she be able to rest once the curse is gone?"_

_"I'm sure as long as your love reaches her, she can be saved."_

...

_I can save father with this...And mom...my love will reach her, I know it!_

...

"Mom, I'm sorry," Namine whispered. "But...but I can't live without father!" She threw the Magic Water at mom, who staggered back, smoke rising from her body.

"_I...I'm fading...My body is...disappearing..." _Mom screamed out, and then...then she was gone, and Namine and father were back home.

"We...we made it back," Namine whispered. "Father! Father, wake up!" she shook father until he stirred, pulling himself up.

"Namine?"

"Oh, thank god, father!" Namine fell onto father's chest, sobbing into his ruined lab coat.

"I'm sorry, Namine. I must have worried you so much,"

"Father...mom..."

"Yes, I know. She must've been so lonely. We'll go visit her grave tomorrow, okay?" Namine sniffled.

"Okay,"

Namine...I didn't want you to know the truth...but with the last of my power, you will.

...

_ "Hm? Where am I?" Namine looked all around her, then she saw her father and Fuu, working on an experiment._

"_Vexen, I don't think the mistress likes me," The doctor's assistant said as she brought him a tray of supplies._

_"Why ever would you think that?" Vexen replied, glancing at her through his glasses._

_"I can see it in her eyes," she sighed. This young woman's name was Fuu, and she was quiet, well-behaved young lady with short silver hair and dark eyes._

_"She is about to turn eleven. Yes, it is quite a troublesome age...just be kind to her. Don't let any harm befall her,"_

_"Doctor..." Fuu looked over at Vexen as he went back to work._

_"Namine is my most precious...doll of them all." Namne blinked._

_"What?"_

_Suddenly she was transported out of the room, and she looked around, spotting her mother walking down the hall. "Mom!" She went to hug her, but went right through her. "What...?"_

_"He's always spending all his time in this basement. Don't tell me he's with that girl again..." She pressed herself to the wall next to the door to listen to their conversation._

_"The mistress has grown into quite a young lady," Fuu said. "And to think, she used to always tease you and bother you,"_

_ "Yes," Vexen said with a laugh. "Just a little more, I think. I little more until she's ripe. I want to make her into the most beautiful doll I can." Larxene gasped._

_"What was that?" she whispered._

_"Namine will be the masterpiece of all the dolls I've made."_

_"D...dolls?" Namine whispered. Larxene closed her eyes._

_"W-what? Make her into a doll?"_

_"Mom? What is this...?"_

_"I will clean up the unnecessary materials," Fuu said._

_"See to it that you do." Vexen replied, sounding distant._

_"I'll never forgive you," Larxene growled. "You'll never make our precious daughter into one of your subjects!"_

_ Larxene marched into the lab, Namine looking in after her. "You! What's the meaning of this? Are you planning to experiment on her?" Vexen sighed._

_"So you overheard..."_

_"What are you thinking? She's our one and only treasure!"_

_"Exactly! She's a wondrous daughter! I want to make it so she stays that way, forever. And yet...one day, she will be dirtied. I can't bear to think of that! So, I will make her into a doll!"_

_"I don't believe this," Larxene gasped. "I'll never let you do that! I'm leaving!"_

_"What are you saying?"_

_"If you want to make a doll of her so badly, make a replica!"_

_ Namine could hear mom turn to leave, but father grabbed her. "Wait." He said in a low voice. "Are you planning to take her away? I can't allow that, Larxene."_

_"Let go of me!"_

_"I won't let you do what you want with her!" There was a crash, and Namine ran into the lab just in time to see Vexen bringing his arm down on Larxene, driving a scalpel into her chest._

_"Mom!" Namine screamed. Larxene stared up at Vexen, shaking, and then, she fell, dead. He backed up off of her, dropping the scalpel just as Fuu came back in._

_ "What...? Milady!" She ran over to Larxene, holding her lifeless body. "Stay with us, milady!" she cried. She looked helplessly up at Vexen. "Doctor, why did you do this?"_

_"It had to be done, for the sake of Namine's future," Vexen replied flatly._

_"B-but...milady!"_

_"Don't speak of this to Namine,"_

_"But..."_

_"She was already feeble. Just say she died of a fit,"_

_"I can't tell her..." Fuu whispered._

_"Are you refusing an order?"_

_"N-no...that's not what I meant..."_

_"Fuu..." Taking a breath, Fuu said,_

_"No matter what happens, I'm always loyal to you, doctor."_

_"Because you are my assistant," Vexen said, touching her face. "Now, we need to dispose of the body. Naturally, Namine must not see it." Fuu turned, looking down at her hands._

_ "Mom..." Namine walked over to her mother's body and fell to her knees. "This can't be real...It isn't real!"_

_"It is real," Namine looked up to see her mother staring at her._

_"Mom...?" Mom closed her eyes, tears falling from them._

_"Namine, I'm sorry. Your mother...she still loves your father even now. So I didn't kill him...but I should've."_

_"Don't say that!" Namine cried._

_"Run away. Get away from him..."_

...

Namine came out of the vision and slowly scooted away from father. "Hm? Namine?" She squeaked and scrambled away when he stood up. "Namine, what's wrong? Why do you look so afraid of me?"

"N-no..." she backed up into a container with a sheet over it; it fell. "Mom?" Her mother's dead body floated inside, still so well preveserved even after a year.

"Namine..." Father took a step closer to her.

"What I just saw...was that all true? Father...you..." He took another step closer to her.

"Very well..."

"Father...?"

"Well, Namine? Don't you think your mother is beautiful?" She backed away from him, making a small noise. "I suppose it is a lot to take in," he murmured. "I wanted just a little more time, but..."

"Father, are you going to make me...into a doll?" Namine whispered.

"Don't be sad, Namine. If you're a doll, your beauty can last forever!" He walked over to the row of dolls on the wall opposite them and held his arms up. "Look at these children. Aren't they beautiful? Preserved, just as they were when they were alive! This is the fruit of my research!" Namine realized, that none of them were moving. Was she going to be like that? "You can hardly even tell they're dolls, can you? But their heads, torsos, arms and legs...they were gathered from a wide variety of people! I find it quite fascinating! Combine a human with a dog if you wish!"

He turned and looked at Namine. "What would you like to be, Namine? Though, I can't make many changes while preserving your loveliness."

"Father...stop," Namine whispered.

"Oh, yes! I can dress up finely! Tell me whatever you wish to wear, Namine,"

"_No!" _She cried as she ran for the door.

"Namine! Where are you going? Come be by your father." She shook her head fiercely.

"No!" She yelled.

"Are you refusing your father?"

"I'm sorry..." Namine whispered. "But I...I don't..._I don't want to be a doll!" _

She ran out of the room and toward the door leading to the corpse room, but found it was locked. "No," she whispered. "No!"

"Naaaaamineeeee..." She turned in time to see the mannequin doll that was standing by the door move to block it just as her father tried to open it. "Open the door, Namine!"

"You blocked it? Thanks." Vexen pounded his fists into the door, screaming,

"_NAMINE!"_ She turned and pulled some more on the door, yelling,

"Open!"

"Naaaaamineeeeee, come baaaaack..."

Suddenly a chainsaw burst through the wood and into the mannequin doll, blood pouring from him. Namine screamed. Vexen burst through the door with the chainsaw in his hands. "No running awaaayyyy..." He said in a creepy voice.

"Gotta run!" She cried, and she went back to yanking on the door until-praise Jesus!-it opened, and she ran out of the room.

Vexen chased her from room to room, until she came to one room where Fuu lay passed out. She nearly ran right into her as she sat up. "Mistress?"

"Fuu!"

"_Fuu! _Don't let Namine escape!" Namine shoved past Fuu, who stared bewildered after her.

"Wait!"

Namine came to a room where she had to make a choice; left or right? Oh, who cared? She just needed to get away! She chose left, jumping over corn sacks and making it into the corpse room. She ran to the door at the end of the room and pulled. "Won't open?" She looked around and realized that one of the wooden tables didn't have a corpse on it. "I could hide here..." So Namine lay down on the table and covered herself up, trying to will her heart to calm.

Fuu came into the corpse room and looked around. "Mistress, where...?"

"Where is she, Fuu?" Vexen growled as he walked into the room.

"I...I don't know," Fuu replied smally. "I lost sight of her. She can't have gotten too far-"

"_You're USELESS_!"

The chainsaw roared to life and Fuu screamed, falling to the floor. Namine tried her hardest not to scream out. Once her father went storming away Namine got off the table and ran over to Fuu, who was bleeding profusely from her leg.

"Oh...What can I use...?"

"Ugh...doctor..." Fuu moaned. Namine had to help. Fuu may have been misguided, but she wasn't a bad person. She ran over to the shelves and searched around, evenually finding some bandages.

"Here! Fuu, I'm going to help you," Namine kneeled beside her and began wrapping her leg. "This should stop the bleeding..." Slowly, Fuu sat up, looking at Namine with grateful wonder in her eyes.

"Thank you for caring for me, mistress," Fuu said.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it, okay?" Namine replied with a smile.

"I should be most loathsome in your eyes..."

"Don't say that,"

"It's true. I know how you feel, mistress. I took away your most beloved. Of course you would hate me. But you're very kind to show me such compassion."

"Fuu..." Namine stood up and looked down at her. "Fuu, can you stand?"

"Mistress?"

"Let's get out of here, together." Namine offered her hand. "You can lean on me, if you need to."

She helped Fuu to her feet and allowed her to lean on her shoulder, and they began walking back the way they had came. Namine supposed they could go the other way... "_Naaaamineeee...Where aaarrreee yooooouuu?" _She flinched at the sound of her father's voice sounding like that. As they rounded the corner to the door leading out of here Fuu fell.

"Fuu!"

"Go on ahead..." she whispered. "I'll just drag you down,"

"I will not leave without you, Fuu!" Namine cried.

"Just go! I'll follow for sure. I'll just be a little slower, that's all. Go! Now!"

"Fuu..." Namine turned and ran, and shortly after the entered the room down the hall Vexen showed up, stepping onto Fuu instead of just walking over or around her.

As Namine entered the room leading to the chapel she heard the chainsaw rev, and as she tried to shut the door, her father slammed it open, smiling down at her. "_I fooounnnd yooooouu!" _He yelled. Namine shuffled back, then turned and slammed herself against the door leading to the chapel; it busted open and she slammed it shut, running down the aisle, but then something jumped on her, forcing her to plop onto the ground.

"What?" she looked down at her leg to see a doll had tackled her, keeping an iron grip on her leg.

"_Heheheheeeee...join us, Namine!" _It laughed.

"That's enough of our game of tag, Namine. I have to keep you still, don't I?" Vexen said, standing before the alter. He revved his chainsaw.

"Let go!" Namine screamed.

"I didn't want to hurt you, but I can cover your leg with a skirt so, it should be fine."

"I don't want this...I wanted to stay with you...father, I love you, so please...stop this!" Vexen cocked his head.

"Don't worry. Father and Namine will be together forever now. So rest in peace..." He raised his chainsaw over his head as Namine screamed. "_I love you." _

Suddenly he dropped his chainsaw and cried out, grabbing a hold of his side and plopping onto his bum. Three knives stuck out from his chest and side. As he shook, his eyes slowly closed, and then... "Mistress!" Fuu hurriedly limped over to her and backhanded the doll keeping Namine on the ground.

"Fuu..."

"Are you hurt?" She asked, kneeling down before Namine. All she could do was sniffle and sob gently.

"Fuuuu..." She collasped onto Fuu, sobbing into her shoulder. Fuu wrapped her arms around Namine. "Father isn't moving. Did he die?"

"I'm sorry, mistress," Fuu whispered. "I had no other choice left than to protect you."

"Okay...I guess this is for the best..."

"_NAAAMINEEEEE!" _Fuu and Namine looked to see Vexen had gotten back up and was coming at them with the chainsaw. But before they could even scream, blood spurted onto them both, an axe lodged into Vexen's neck. He fell to the ground, lifeless. A boy with blond hair stood where he stood, looking at Namine with a soft gaze.

"Roxas..." she whispered.

"I'm glad I made it!" He said with a smile. Namine stared at him for a moment, then, she fainted.

...

Once she had regained consciousness, they all stood in the foyer of the manor, the other corpses now gone. "Thank you, Roxas, for saving us," Namine said with a smile.

"No need for thanks," he said, waving his hand. "I just did as she asked,"

"You mean my mom?" He nodded.

"I said I was sorry for scaring you, and I truly didn't intend to get injured. Believe that." Namine nodded.

"I understand. Mom wanted to protect me. Thank you mom...I want to see you again,"

"She wanted that, too," Roxas said. "But I don't think she wanted to be seen the way she is now,"

"That's...whatever mom looks like...I'd..."

"It's alright. She's watching you from afar. So don't be sad. If you are, it'll only make her sad."

"Right..."

"The curse will wear off soon, so it's almost farewell..."

"You'll go away?" Namine's eyes grew sad.

"We're all alive now only because of the curse," Roxas replied.

"Oh..."

"But there's something I must do before I go. And that is set fire to the manor." Namine blinked.

"Why? You can't do that!"

"If we leave it standing then someone might find traces of your father here. We can't have the same tragedy happen again," Roxas said softly.

"But all my memories of being happy here..."

"It isn't my intent to destroy those," Roxas said. "You'll always keep the happy memories with you, alive in your heart." Namine fell silent, then nodded.

Roxas walked up to her then kissed her forehead. "May you always be smile upon." He said gently. "Now go. It's time." Suddenly fire sparked all around them and Roxas backed away.

"I will keep you all alive in my heart," Namine said. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Namine."

She scooped up Snowball and she and Fuu turned, leaving the manor behind them.

As Namine turned to get one last look at her home, she was struck by a wave a virtigo, and fell, passed out.

...


	8. In the End

"Hello, my name is Doctor Marluxia Masters," A man with pink hair said as he walked into the room where Mr and Mrs. White sat.

"What is the matter with our daughter?" Vexen asked. "She set fire to our home," Larxene added.

"Yes, I've heard that," Marluxia took a seat at the desk across from them and looked at his clipboard. "Mr and Mrs. White, your daughter seems to be displaying signs of severe schizophrenia, meaning she hears and sees things that aren't really there. The voices she heard in her head kept telling her to burn the house down, that traces of her father couldn't be found,"

"Traces of me?" Vexen repeated.

"She told our nurse that you killed your wife and were trying to kill her and make her into a doll, and that there was this whole maze of laboratories underneath your home. She said your assistant Fuu helped you with making children into dolls." Vexen and Larxene exchanged glances.

"I don't have an assistant named Fuu," Vexen said. "I'm not even a scientist. I'm a family doctor." Marluxia nodded.

"I know."

Marluxia went through his records on sighed. "There is no easy way to tell you this, Mr and Mrs. White, but I think Namine should be admitted into the asylum. She's far too dangerous to let you take her home." Vexen closed his eyes and Larxene held her face in her hands. "If it makes you feel better, it isn't your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. It's a fault of Namine's mind. Something isn't right in her head, and we will try to do all we can to make her better, so one day she _will _be able to return home. Until that time comes, you can always visit her. However, it's so severe in her right now that she believes both of you to be dead."

"What will she see us as?" Vexen asked. Marluxia sighed.

"Who knows? Whatever creatures she's made up in her head, I'd assume. That's how she'll see you."

"Our poor baby..." Larxene whispered.

In her room Namine rocked back and forth, still trapped in the confines of her own mind, and she began laughing. And laughing.

And laughing.


End file.
